Why Believe?

By profession, I am a software architect, but more importantly, I am a lifelong Bible student and volunteer supporting the San Francisco Peninsula Christadelphians. My wife and I have always been active in volunteering with Christadelphian communities both locally and around the world. We are currently spending a year in the Bay Area to help build and support this community.

I have been actively studying and presenting seminars and classes on the Bible for the last 10 years, and I have been a baptized disciple of Jesus for 13 years.

I have a passion for sharing the good news of God's word with others—a passion inspired by those who made an impact on me. Through their actions, they helped teach and show me who God and Jesus are. It is my goal to share that experience and make a similar impact on others.

James Robinson was baptized into the saving name of Jesus Christ at 16 after looking over the edge of a cliff and deciding he needed to figure out what was going to happen if he slipped.

20 years later, he still isn't the best with heights, which is perhaps why he spends much of his time instead staring at computer screens. Whether he's learning languages or designing microchips, James brings an enthusiastic but logical passion to all his endeavours, and especially loves discussing how the Bible relates to daily life.

I am a physicist working at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource in California, and a Christian who has demonstrated (at least to myself) that the Bible is a source of wisdom beyond human authorship. I’ve always been fascinated by the unknown, especially in physics, theology and philosophy, and greatly enjoy the rich sense of wonder I experience when at work and at play in those worlds. How does light interact with matter at its most basic level? What are the limitations for a human mind studying itself? How can the ancient story of God’s treatment of Job be embraced? These sorts of questions.

            As a consequence, in the theological arena I’m most strongly drawn towards age-old, unsolved mysteries and longstanding perceived injustices. Has science effectively disproved the existence of God? Why should anyone attribute credibility to the Bible, given it is a seemingly random assemblage of books and authors from time periods spanning a millennium? How can belief in a benign God be rational, given the degree of intense suffering in the world? These sorts of questions.

For Ben Gallagher, the answer to the question of “Why Believe” came after a tumultuous childhood filled with substance abuse, divorce, and mental health crises.

After searching (in many of the wrong places) for anything that could provide peace, he came to the Christadelphian church in his early 20’s. There he found a renewed connection with God and his reason to believe.

Ben now teaches high school government and economics classes and is a husband and father of two.